Aaron the Entertainer

I asked Aaron to entertain Reuben for a minute while I was in the other room. When I came back this is what I saw.

Jolly Green Baby

We decided to give Reuben his first taste of "real" food. We were advised that introducing green veggies first is helpful in establishing good eating habits so Reuben's first food was green beans. I thought he'd just spit them out but he LOVED them. He was lunging out of his chair to get at them and licking like mad. Such a good vegetarian baby :)

Early Spring Garden

Last weekend Aaron Reuben and I helped the Cummings plant an early spring garden. By late afternoon we had cleared the ground, turned over the soil, weeded, visited the hardware store and were finally ready to plant. 

Joel came out to help with the planting. As we were finishing up, he looked suspiciously at one of the dozen of plants he had just put in the soil and asked, "Just what sort of plant is this?" 

Aaron looked over and told him, "Swiss Chard" 

Joel: Uhk, well, at least Mom will like it. What about that stuff?

Aaron: Cabbage.

Joel (somewhat incredulous): Cabbage!? Ihk. And those rows?

Aaron: Turnips.

Joel: What? Don't you have any, you know, other, good plants? Maybe some fruit?

Aaron: Those over there will be peas. 

Joel (not impressed): Hmph. 

And from the look on his face he was thinking: This was a total waste of time.

Since the weather is still so unpredictable, if what we were planting had any chance of surviving it had to be the cold weather crops. But Joel isn't the only person who has his reservations about Nordic vegetation. That's why both Aaron and I really enjoyed this Slate article about what to do with such ruffage. 

First

I put real shoes - with laces - on Reuben today. He looked so grown up.

A Deadly Swarm

I realized yesterday that it's been a while since I shared a poem. Here's a verse by Milton. Poor Milton. I feel his pain.

Retiring from the popular noise, I seek

This unfrequented place to find some ease,

Ease to the body some, none to the mind

From restless thoughts, that like a deadly swarm

Of Hornets arm'd, no sooner found alone,

But rushing upon me thronging, and present

Time past, what once I was, and what am now.

National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is kicking off this weekend. Aaron and I went last year and it was a party. There are all kinds of wonderful events going on to celebrate the gorgeous blooms. While we were tempted to attend the all day, marathon anime viewing, Aaron Reuben and I finally decided instead on Family Day at the building museum. Here's the info. It's this Saturday. We'd love to meet up with anyone else who would like to attend. I'm particularly looking forward to decorating a cow pot though I have no idea what a cow pot is. Here are a few more of the activities at family day:

Explore a floating Japanese tea room, meet the architect and build your own mini tea house

Learn by folding fuoshiki - Japanese wrapping cloth and watch a pro demonstration

Construct a kirigami sturcture with the Washington Examiner 

Plant a seedling and decorate a biodegradable cow pot to celebrate a green spring

Design your own Anime character

Watch the Washington Ballet build a cherry blossomed inspired boly (boly is how I like to spell ballet at midnight)

Make a mini kite

Listen to Suzuki Strings performed by youth at the Levine School of Music

Enjoy a bunch of other performance including traditional japanese dance and Martial arts

Saturday there's also DC's annual kite festival on the mall and Sunday there's a lantern lighting festival.  Isn't DC a great place to live?

The Big Broadcast

Looking for a little more Truth, Justice, and the American way in your life? Check out the Big Broadcast, four hours of the golden age of radio every Sunday. These are stories from an era when Freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar was cutting edge CSI. There's also Westerns, Mysteries (Like the Case of the Haunted Artist), sitcoms, super heros and ads. Aaron and I are picking up some 50s slang, see?